US Autoworkers Voice Frustrations, Suggestions on Auto Restructuring
美国汽车工人国会山表达心声

　 
As Congress and the Bush administration continued negotiations on a $15 billion loan for U.S. auto companies, a group of autoworkers traveled to Washington to draw attention to their concerns about the future of the American auto industry.

美国国会和布什政府正在讨论汽车工业是否应该获得150亿美元的救助。与此同时，一些美国汽车工人来到华盛顿，表达他们的心声。他们对美国汽车工业的未来感到担忧，并希望引起舆论的关注。

Members of the United Auto Workers and other labor unions appeared at a news conference on Capitol Hill Monday as lawmakers and the White House were negotiating details of a loan package for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

就在白宫和国会针对向通用、福特和克莱斯勒三大汽车公司提供贷款的方案细节展开讨论的时候，美国汽车工人联合会(UAW)和其他工会组织在国会山召开了记者会。

They came not only from Michigan, where the companies are based, but also from Indiana, Ohio, New York and other states where tens of thousands of Americans work directly in or contribute to automobile production.

这些工会成员不仅来自三大汽车公司总部所在地密西根，同时也来自印第安纳、俄亥俄、纽约和其他一些州。在这些地区，成千上万名美国人从事和汽车生产直接或间接有关的工作。

All urged Congress and the Bush administration to approve the loan, which is now less than half of the $34 billion originally requested by the "Big Three" car companies.

他们敦促国会和行政部门批准对汽车工业提供贷款。目前讨论的贷款额度不足三大汽车公司原先要求的340亿美元的一半。

But their main goal was to combat the assertion by auto industry executives and other critics that a large portion of the blame for the industry's inefficiencies and financial weakness can be placed on the shoulders of high cost union workers.

但是，他们此行最主要的目的是想反驳汽车公司高管和行业批评人士常常表达的一种看法，即美国汽车工业的不足和财务困境在很大程度上应该归咎于工会成员高昂的劳动成本。

Frank Hammer, a retired president of the United Auto Workers union, or UAW, Local 909 in Detroit, says now is the time for big solutions, not criticisms of workers.

弗兰克.海默是美国汽车工人联合会底特律地区909分会的前主席。他说，美国汽车工业现在需要的是庞大的解决方案，而不是对工人的指责。

"The reality is that our labor constitutes just eight percent of the price of a new car," he said. "We could work for free and it would not solve the crisis."

“现实情况是，劳工成本仅仅构成一辆新车价格的8%。我们可以不要钱白干，但是公司还是会赔钱。”

Tony Browning has worked for more than 34 years in a Chrysler plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

托尼.布朗宁在密西根州斯特灵海茨地区的克莱斯勒工厂干了34年。

"People are giving the auto industry a bad reputation," he said. "They are saying we are lazy, we are overpaid and under worked. But that is far from the truth."

他说：“人们对汽车工业的一些指责是没有道理的。他们说汽车工人懒惰，挣钱太多、工作太少。事实不是这样的。”

The workers contrasted federal money that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are seeking with the hundreds of billions of dollars the government quickly came up with for banks and financial institutions.

这些工人还把汽车公司希望获得的联邦贷款和美国政府为银行业提供的上千亿美元的救助计划加以对比。

Bill Alfred, President of UAW Local 235 in Michigan, says the government needs to help the U.S. auto industry survive the current financial storm.

比尔.阿尔弗雷德是汽车工人联合会密西根235分会的主席。他说，政府需要帮助汽车工业度过金融风暴。

"It's just ridiculous that the auto industry is getting tormented over getting a fraction of the money we have given Wall Street," he said. "And that was a blank check. It was [for Wall Street] a walk in, take the money, and walk out."

“我们要的钱只不过是华尔街得到的零头而已，但是汽车工业为此却倍受指责。这太荒唐了。而且华尔街得到的还是张空白支票。他们什么都不用做，拿了钱就走。”

Wendy Thompson, a retired former president of UAW Local 235 in Michigan, says the federal government should provide oversight of the auto industry as it attempts to transform itself.

温蒂.汤普森是汽车工人联合会密西根235分会的前主席。她说，联邦政府应该带领汽车行业进行变革。

Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system.

她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。

"Remember World War II? Do you know your history? Auto plants transformed into making airplanes and other war products overnight," said Thompson. "Why can't we do this again? It's another crisis. Let's start making mass transportation; let's start doing light rail [and] speed trains. We can do that work; we're skilled workers; we have shown that we have the capabilities. Let us do that work."

她说：“记不记得第二次世界大战?记得那段历史吗?当时的汽车生产线一夜之间就转换成了飞机和其他武器装备的生产线。现在为什么不能这样呢?现在我们面对的是又一次危机。我们应该开始着眼公共交通，我们应该开始建造轻轨和高速列车。我们可以做这些，我们是高技术工人，我们有这个能力。”

Mark Deagle and Steven Waskul are auto industry workers in Michigan.

[If] you start closing these plants, you're not only going to affect them, you're going to affect our membership, you're going to affect the suppliers, you're going to affect a lot of Americans," Deagle said.

"Nobody has mentioned rail cars that transport the vehicles throughout the country. Nobody has mentioned the car haulers. Nobody has mentioned all the people, the peripheral people, who are involved in the auto industry," Waskul said.

When they received auto company restructuring proposals last week, U.S. lawmakers also heard from experts about the effect of potential bankruptcy by any or all of the Big Three companies - something a government loan is aimed at preventing.

当美国国会议员收到汽车公司递交的重组方案的时候，专家也对议员发出警告说，三大巨头中的任何一家，或者三家一同破产的话，后果将非常严重。而政府贷款的目的正是为了使这些公司免于这种命运。

David Friedman, Research Director for the Clean Vehicles Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the question is whether U.S. automakers can change.

大卫.弗里德曼是"关注时事科学家联盟"(Union of Concerned Scientists)的低污染汽车项目负责人。他说，现在的关键问题是汽车工业能否变革。

"We need to acknowledge what we already know," he said. "The survival of the Detroit auto industry depends on their ability to deliver the products consumers need in a world of volatile oil prices and a changing climate."

“我们必须承认我们已经知道的事情。底特律的生死存亡取决于他们能否在油价剧烈波动和全球气候变暖的情况下生产消费者需要的产品。”

Key points in auto company loan legislation include strong government oversight to ensure that companies implement restructuring plans.

为汽车工业提供贷款的立法草案包括政府加强对汽车行业重组过程的监管。

Representative Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says change will require significant sacrifices and compromise.

巴尼.弗兰克众议员是众议院金融服务委员会主席。他说，汽车工业的变革需要有关各方做出实质性的妥协和牺牲。

"There would be requirements that the various parties here, the stakeholders - whether they are the bond holders or the workers or the shareholders or the top rank employees - that all of them are going to have to make some kind of sacrifice in this," he said. "There will have to be contributions from all sides."

“最终的方案会要求所有有关方面，所有利益攸关者，不论是股东、债券持有人、工人、还是高级主管，他们所有人在这个过程中都必须付出一定代价。他们要为这个过程做出贡献。”

House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that if by early next year - in the early months of President-elect Barack Obama's administration - companies are not meeting conditions, they should not expect what she calls "an endless flow of money".

众议院议长南希.佩洛西说，如果汽车公司在明年早些时候，也就是奥巴马执政的最初阶段无法达到国会的要求的话，这些公司就不应该指望获得政府源源不断的救助。